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Recipe: Pumpkin Ice Cream

Has this ever happened to you? It’s Friday, you and your spouse have both had a long, stressful week, you don’t feel like cooking but don’t want to eat garbage or spend a fortune. You’re both overwhelmed with options but neither one of you want to make a decision. Sound familiar? Yeah, this happens to us pretty much every Friday night. Our solution? The Whole Foods hot bar. It’s healthy, has a ton of options, is easy, and won’t totally break the bank. A win/win really.

So our Friday Night Dinner Situation brought us to Whole Foods which left us with full bellies and the desire to wander the aisles. I wandered myself right up to the wall of seasonal items, included canned pumpkin. This stuff is a hot commodity, I couldn’t believe they still had some in stock! So I bought three cans with big ideas in store. First up? Pumpkin ice cream!

Add the cream and sugar to a sauce pan over medium heat. Stir continuously until the sugar has dissolved. When the sugar has dissolved add in the pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla. Stir to combine and let the mixture cook together for about 5 minutes over medium-low heat.

While the base is heating up, prepare the egg yolks for tempering. Whisk them together in a separate, heat-safe bowl.

To temper the eggs: Take a cup of the hot mixture and slowly pour it into the bowl of yolks, whisking quickly and constantly. You have to do this slowly or you’ll end up with scrambled eggs. I mix in just about 3 cups of my hot mixture before the temperature is up high enough to pour the entire bowl back into the sauce pan without scrambling the eggs.

After the eggs are fully incorporated into the mixture (now a custard, really), stir continuously over low heat until the mixture has fully thickened. This takes 7-10 minutes. Don’t skimp on the stirring, if you do the eggs will separate and the custard will be ruined! After the custard is done, transfer it back into the heat-safe bowl. I actually strained my batter into the bowl but that step isn’t necessary. I just wanted to make sure there weren’t any big pumpkin bits. Let the batter come to room temperature and then put it in the fridge overnight.

When the batter has chilled, it’s time to make ice cream! According to your ice cream mixer manufacturer’s instructions, mix the batter in the attachment bowl until it becomes ice cream. For my KitchenAid, this takes 20-30 minutes.

I love watching the custard turn into delicious ice cream!

Transfer the ice cream into a tupperware container and freeze overnight.